NORTH Wales fire bosses last night said crews were stretched to the limit tackling grass fires at the weekend.

They described the blazes as “a huge drain on resources” which put the lives of firefighters and the public at risk.

Rescuers yesterday blamed an arsonist for starting one of the fires, near Harlech.

And 19 firefighters were airlifted off a Snowdonia mountainside by RAF Valley helicopter after they battled a 40 acre-plus blaze, thought to have been started by a single discarded cigarette, in failing light.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service said the emergency services were called to the blaze in the Carnedd y Cribau area of Nant Gwynant just after 3pm on Saturday.

Difficult terrain meant the firefighters faced a one-and-a-half hour trek to reach the blaze which they tackled using beaters.

RAF Valley’s 22 Squadron was on standby to lift 19 of the crew off the mountain at about 8.20pm.

County Operations Manager Glyn Jones said: “The reason the fire crews were flown down in the 22 Squadron helicopter was that we needed to get the crews and resources back into the local community as soon as possible to provide the best cover for the public of North Wales.

“The cause of this fire has been established as a discarded cigarette.

“We are asking members of the public who are out in the countryside during this hot weather not to throw their cigarettes without ensuring that they are extinguished properly.

“These incidents are a huge drain on our resources and put the lives of the firefighters and public at risk.”

The second blaze was reported in the early hours of Sunday morning at Llandecwyn, near Harlech.